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Vision for Victory
SHARP PLEDGES $200,000 TO VISION FOR VICTORY CAMPAIGN
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M.L. Sharp stands in front of the records
board in Percefull Fieldhouse at Northwestern
Oklahoma State University—a board that
includes his name as a free throw shooter.
Sharp has made a significant pledge to the
university’s “Vision for Victory” campaign. |
M.L. Sharp, a 1954 graduate of Northwestern Oklahoma
State University and a long-time supporter of the
school’s programs, has pledged $200,000 to the
Vision for Victory Campaign for athletics.
“I
am happy to be able to help Northwestern with this
important project,” Sharp said. “The Vision for Victory
Campaign needs to be a success.”
Sharp’s gift brings Northwestern closer to beginning
phases I and II of the Victory for Victory projects –
construction of a new football locker room and major
renovations to the baseball venue.
“We are deeply appreciative of Mr. Sharp’s commitment to
our student-athletes and Northwestern,” said Dr. Janet
Cunningham, university president. “Mr. Sharp has a
tremendous philanthropic spirit, and that spirit has
touched the lives of many of our students. He serves as
a true role model for our students and alumni.”
Sharp played basketball for the Rangers during his
college years, earning a role as a starter for three
seasons and winning all-conference honors as a senior.
He
still holds the Ranger record for free throws made in a
game with 19 during a game with Phillips University on
Jan. 30, 1953. The Rangers won 86-76, with Sharp scoring
a total of 29 points.
“What Northwestern did for me was develop my
self-confidence,” Sharp said. “A good player has to have
confidence in himself.”
That confidence inspired Sharp to take chances in
business and he took a big one in 1982, when at age 49,
he left a highly-successful management career with The
Boeing Company to join a partner in purchasing a company
that built automated baggage handling systems for
airports.
Sharp and his partner turned BAE Automated Systems into
a true success story, installing its automated baggage
handling systems at most major airports across the free
world. Three years after buying the company, Sharp and
his partner sold BAE.
Sharp married Jo Kinser of Mooreland in 1953 and the
couple had two children – a son, Rory, and a daughter,
Lisa Jo. Jo Sharp passed away in June 2006.
The Sharps have a long history of support for
Northwestern. They made an initial gift of $50,000 to
the Northwestern Foundation and in 1986 made the largest
gift at that time to the Foundation, a $250,000
endowment that created the Sharp-Kinser Scholarship
Fund.
In
1987, Sharp was named a Distinguished Graduate of
Northwestern, and a year later, he received an
Outstanding Graduate Centennial Award.
TODD
AND MARY MARGARET MILLER PROVIDE $300,000 GIFT
TO NORTHWESTERN’S VISION FOR VICTORY EFFORT
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Dr. Janet Cunningham, president of
Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Mary
Margaret Miller, Todd Miller and Bob Battisti,
athletic director, display the plans for a new
permanent seating area and dugouts at the
university’s baseball stadium. A gift of
$300,000 from the Millers will fund the
project as part of Northwestern’s Vision for
Victory campaign. |
Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s Vision
for Victory campaign for athletics received its
first major gift from private individuals as Todd
and Mary Margaret Miller of Alva provided a gift of
$300,000 to fund a major renovation of the
University’s baseball stadium.
The gift will create a new permanent
seating area named in honor of Mary Margaret’s parents,
W.D. Jr., and Lillie Myers. In addition to the seating
area, the gift will construct new dugouts and create
significantly more aesthetically pleasing areas
surrounding the field.
The structure will feature the use of
brick, concrete and iron work that is prominent in many
of today’s major league ballparks.
“I wanted to do something in memory of my
parents,” said Mary Margaret. “From the moment we saw
the University’s vision for the athletic complex, we
knew this was what we wanted to be involved in.”
Dr. Janet Cunningham, president of
Northwestern, praised the Millers for becoming the first
private individuals to step forward with a major gift in
the Vision for Victory campaign.
“With this gift, Mary Margaret and Todd
have stepped forward and taken the lead in supporting
our vision and established a new standard in private
giving to athletics,” said Cunningham. “I thank them for
their generosity and applaud them for their leadership.”
The Millers hoped their gift would
inspire others to invest in Northwestern’s athletic
campaign.
“I hope we can serve as an example for
others to give,” Mary Margaret said. “It’s time for
people to get involved and become part of the solution.
The University has an opportunity to do something really
special.”
Mary Margaret graduated from Northwestern
in 1986 and today serves as chairman of the board of
Hopeton State Bank and as a director of the Central
National Bank of Alva. Todd attended Northwestern in the
early 1990s and is a part of the ownership group of KALV-AM
in Alva and one of the most recognized voices in
northwest Oklahoma.
The two have shared a love for
Northwestern athletics as fans, with Todd taking his
involvement a step further as the radio voice of the
Rangers on KALV since 1990. While their interest
encompasses all sports, their passion is baseball.
“I started going to major league games
when they built The Ballpark in Arlington in the late
1990s,” said Mary Margaret. “When I started going down
there I fell in love with the game.”
Todd’s love for the game began as soon as
he picked up a ball and bat when he was eight years old.
“I’ve always loved the game since the
first summer I played,” he said. “I guess I love it
because you don’t have to be very big and you don’t have
to be very fast to play. That was me.”
Since their marriage in 2003, the Millers
spend much of their springs and summers traveling to
baseball games around the country. They have seen games
involving all but three of the 30 major league teams and
the two have a goal to visit every big league ballpark.
It was the traveling to baseball games
and Northwestern athletic events that led the Millers to
believe that they wanted to help the school improve its
athletic facilities.
“For 18 years I have traveled covering
games and seen first-hand how important it is to have
great facilities to not only compete in intercollegiate
athletics, but to compete for students as well,” Todd
said. “You only get one chance to make a first
impression on a student.”
Mary Margaret’s grandfather, W.D. Myers,
became involved in Alva’s financial community in 1919
when he purchased a large interest in what was to become
Central National Bank of Alva. He became president of
the bank and led it until his death in 1951.
His son, W.D. Myers, Jr., continued the
family legacy in the banking business by purchasing a
majority interest in the Hopeton State Bank. Following
the death of his father in 1951, he became president of
Central National Bank of Alva.
Lillie Myers also was involved in the
banking business, serving as a director on the boards of
Hopeton State Bank and the Central National Bank of
Alva.
Lillie Myers passed away in 1979,
followed by W.D. in 1987.
Northwestern’s Vision for Victory
includes $4 million in new construction at its football
and baseball stadiums. The $300,000 gift from the
Millers follows a $1.5 million lead gift from the
Charles Morton Share Trust which will be used to help
construct a new football locker room and associated
weight training, sports medicine and team facilities.
LEGENDARY RANGER ATHLETE PLEDGES $25,000
TO VISION FOR VICTORY CAMPAIGN
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Stewart
Arthurs |
As
a former All-America football player and three-sport
letterman at Northwestern Oklahoma State University,
Stewart Arthurs clearly understands the role that
athletics plays in the life of his alma mater.
To
this day, Arthurs cherishes the camaraderie shared with
his teammates and wants future Rangers to have the same
opportunities that he experienced.
That is why Arthurs has presented Northwestern with a
gift of $25,000 to support the Vision for Victory
athletics campaign that will renovate the football and
baseball venues.
“I
am so appreciative of what Northwestern has done for
me,” Arthurs said. “I wanted to give back something.
“I
am very much in favor of the plan to upgrade the
facilities. The improvements are very much needed.”
Bob Battisti, athletic director at Northwestern, said
the school will name the team meeting room and public
reception area in the new football locker room after
Arthurs.
Arthurs, who has served as the city attorney in Cushing
since 1970, has a storied history at Northwestern.
A
native of Bristow, Arthurs was an all-state basketball
player in high school and had his sights set on
continuing his career at Northwestern as a football
player.
“I
wanted to play football at Northwestern, but the school
did not have a scholarship available for me,” he said.
“They offered me a basketball scholarship instead.”
Arthurs took that scholarship and went on to earn
all-conference honors for three years. In 1960, he led
the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game. He also
was a conference champion in track competing in the low
hurdles.
However, Arthurs’ greatest fame came on the gridiron,
where he earned All-America honors in 1960 and
established new school records in career rushing yards,
career touchdowns and touchdowns in a season. He also
was named an academic All-American in 1960 and 1961, and
served as the president of the Student Government
Association as a senior.
Arthurs earned 12 varsity letters.
“At that time, they told me I was the first person since
Junior Johnson to accomplish that feat,” Arthurs said.
Arthurs attended Northwestern at the same time his
mother Marie was beginning her career as an English
professor at the school, becoming one of its most
respected and beloved faculty members.
“She set the bar a little high,” Arthurs said.
Just like he did as a student-athlete, Arthurs
distinguished himself in his professional career.
Following graduation in 1962, he was awarded a Rotary
Foundation scholarship that allowed him to study at the
London School of Economics. He graduated from law school
in 1966 and went into private practice.
Arthurs served three years on the Board of Governors for
the Oklahoma Bar Association and nine years as a trustee
for the Oklahoma Bar Foundation. Arthurs also is a
retired U.S. Army colonel after serving with the Judge
Advocate General corps.
Northwestern’s Vision for Victory plan calls for nearly
$4 million in renovations to the football and baseball
venues. More than $1.8 million has been raised since the
plan was unveiled in September.
Arthurs is committed to helping the Vision for Victory
dream become a reality.
“This will put us in a position to be competitive in
attracting great student-athletes,” he said. “There are
a lot of people like me who benefitted from athletics at
Northwestern, and we now have an opportunity to give
something back.”
RANDY
AND CARLA MITCHEL JOIN VISION FOR VICTORY CAMPAIGN
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Carla and Randy
Mitchel view an architect’s rendering of
Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s
proposed football locker room complex with Dr.
Janet Cunningham (right), university
president. The Mitchels have pledged $8,000 to
assist in the four-phase renovation of the
football and baseball venues. |
Randy and Carla Mitchel of Alva have pledged a gift
of $8,000 to Northwestern Oklahoma State
University’s Vision for Victory athletics campaign.
The unrestricted gift will be used to help construct the
new football locker room complex at Ranger Field, the
centerpiece of a four-phase renovation of the football
and baseball venues.
“The Mitchels have long supported Northwestern athletics
in many forms and their willingness to step up and make
this gift is a testament to their commitment to
Northwestern and its students,” said Dr. Janet
Cunningham, president.
Randy Mitchel is a 1975 graduate of Northwestern and
owner and operator of KALV-AM radio and Champ’s
Restaurant of Alva. He has served as the color
commentator for Ranger football games for several years.
His wife, Carla, is a vocal music teacher for the Alva
elementary schools.
“We believe strongly in the Vision for Victory
campaign,” said Randy. “We are in a position now where
we can help Northwestern and believe it is the right
thing to do.”
Northwestern’s Vision for Victory campaign will pursue
funds to transform the school’s football and baseball
stadiums. Four major projects are included in the plan,
including construction of a new football locker room
complex, construction of a new main press box and public
use building, a new permanent seating area and fan
pavilion at the baseball stadium, and a new indoor
practice facility to be utilized by the baseball and
softball teams.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Vision for Victory
campaign can contact Bob Battisti, athletic director, at
(580) 327-8632, Steve Valencia, associate vice president
for university relations, at (580) 327-8478, or Skeeter
Bird, director of the Northwestern Foundation, at (580)
327-8599.
K&S TIRE JOINS VISION FOR VICTORY CAMPAIGN
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Christie and Scott Riley view an architect’s
rendering of Northwestern Oklahoma State
University’s proposed football locker room
complex with Dr. Janet Cunningham (right),
university president. The Rileys’ pledge will
assist in the four-phase renovation of the
football and baseball venues. |
The owners of K&S Tire, Scott Riley and Kevin
Isenbart, have demonstrated their support for
Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s Vision for
Victory athletics campaign by making a recent gift.
Riley and his wife, Christie, represented the
company in presenting the funds to Northwestern.
“It amazes me the impact that Northwestern has on Alva
and this project will have a great impact on the
community,” said Riley. “It’s going to take everyone’s
participation to make Northwestern’s vision a reality.”
The gift will be used to help construct the new football
locker room complex at Ranger Field, the centerpiece of
a four-phase renovation of the football and baseball
venues.
“K&S Tire is truly committed to supporting Northwestern
and our vision for athletics,” said Dr. Janet
Cunningham, president. “The company understands projects
like those that are a part of our Vision for Victory
campaign can only be realized through strong community
support.”
Scott Riley attended Northwestern in the late 1980s and
owns K&S Tire, Inc., with locations in Alva, Woodward,
Kingfisher and Clinton. Christie Riley is a 1992
graduate of Northwestern and is an instructor in the
school’s education division.
Northwestern’s Vision for Victory campaign will pursue
funds to transform the school’s football and baseball
stadiums. Four major projects are included in the plan,
including construction of a new football locker room
complex, construction of a new main press box and public
use building, a new permanent seating area and fan
pavilion at the baseball stadium, and a new indoor
practice facility to be utilized by the baseball and
softball teams.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Vision for Victory
campaign can contact Bob Battisti, athletic director, at
(580) 327-8632, or Steve Valencia, associate vice
president for university relations, at (580) 327-8478.
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